


tripped and fell into you

by NatureGirl202



Series: stumbling through the stars [1]
Category: Mass Effect, Mass Effect - All Media Types, Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/M, also disclaimer: haven't played the game yet 'cause my computer sucks :/ :/ :/, custom name ryder just fyi, don't have a specific timeline for this, just post-couch pre-relationship lol, so i feel like this is rougher than it should be but whatever oh well lol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-01
Updated: 2017-06-01
Packaged: 2018-11-07 12:10:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11058684
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NatureGirl202/pseuds/NatureGirl202
Summary: //tumblr prompt: Gabby/Liam + “I fell into your lap on accident oh god you’re so close now I can’t breathe”or, the one where being clumsy has its perks.





	tripped and fell into you

So, here’s the thing: she’s never been all that coordinated. Sure, she’s improved over the years and can now walk across a flat surface—usually, anyway—without inexplicably falling right onto her face. She’s still bad at turning and doesn’t even want to talk about her skill with the jump jet—she’s pretty sure she’s gotten more bruises from rough landings than she has enemy fire. It’s odd really, put a datapad under her nose and suddenly she can navigate the toughest of crowds. She suspects it’s overthinking on her part, a problem she’s always had. If something is _simple_ , then she just hasn’t looked at all the variables yet, right?

Due to this and her generally peaceful nature, her combat skills have always been lacking as well. She passed Alliance basic training by the skin of her teeth, but knew that she wasn’t going to be the one to carry on the great Ryder name in the Alliance. Still, she’d managed to get by with the help of her natural biotics and tech skills.

Since receiving SAM’s… _upgrade_ , though, she’s had far less trouble than she used to. She can aim better and dodge and her biotics are even more fine-tuned than before. She’s becoming a bit of a badass, if she does say so herself. Still, there are relapses. Like right now, as she follows Liam down a steep hill on Eos and her foot slips in the sand and she’s suddenly tumbling down, crashing into something firm— _Liam_ , obviously, as a rock would’ve hurt more. Liam gives a grunt and gives way under her sudden weight—though, really, the yelp she just gave should’ve been warning enough for everyone to evacuate the area, as they should all be used to her sudden mishaps by now.

They roll a few more feet before coming to a stop, with him on the bottom, arms wrapped around her waist. She’d done her best to ball herself up, which means that she’s now pressed firmly into his chest and—is she _straddling_ him? Oh god, she’s straddling him! She pushes herself up, his arms still around her waist, but loose. Her hands slip against his chest, though, and she goes falling back down, catching herself with just an inch to spare. During her struggles, though, she’d managed to reposition herself to where her face was right above his. So now their noses are brushing and his eyes are staring right into her and she can feel his breath, but he probably can’t feel hers because she doesn’t have any. Her breath had left her point-four seconds ago when she’d noticed their position and it hadn’t come back. It was probably all the way back in the Milky Way by now, telling her extremely distant relatives all about their awkward cousin and oh god, can the ground open up and swallow her? Wait, no, bad idea, ‘cause it would probably take Liam with her.

Speaking of: “Hi,” he says, cracking that grin of his and she just keeps staring dumbly into his eyes because if she didn’t, she’d be staring at his mouth and, oh boy, would that be a bad idea. She honestly hadn’t been this close to him since their brief moment on the couch, when she’d pressed her forehead against his—what her mom had always done for her when she’d been upset—but her eyes had been closed then, so she hadn’t noticed all the different specks of color in his eyes and how they all blended together to make that perfect, soft brown that in the right light reminded her of those caramel treats her mom had made once that didn’t turn out so well but still somehow became synonymous with the thought of _home_.

His brow furrows and she wants to kiss the little scrunch that appears between his eyebrow and _woah_ , slow down there, _chica_. “You good, Pathfinder?” He’s probably growing concerned at her silence and wide-eyed look. She blinks rapidly, forcing herself to get some control like a _professional_ , dammit.

“Yeah!” she squeaks out with a little too much force as she rolls off of him. Her cheeks are blazing as she coughs and clears her throat in a vain attempt to make him think she’d swallowed sand or… something, anything really.

That’s just as Cora practically slides down to them with a grace that always makes Gabby feel like a bumbling toddler. “You two alright?” the other woman asks, watching as the two stand, one—Gabby—with more trouble than the other. Cora doesn’t sound all that concerned, probably because if a tumble down a sandy hill could kill them, then they’d all be dead by now. Gabby still nods, patting down her armor in a fairly useless attempt to get all the sand out of the crevices.

"Yes! Perfectly fine. Now, let’s get back to… whatever we were doing before” she fumbles and really, she’s one of the smartest people she knows, but her words never seem to convey that. Liam laughs, and she’s not sure if it’s because he thinks she’s joking about having forgotten or not. Either way, the sound makes her smile a little like it usually does and she watches as he resumes their path to… wherever.

She doesn’t notice Cora side-eyeing her until she speaks. “You two looked pretty comfortable there for a second.”

She activates her tactical cloak in a too-late-attempt to hide her blush. It does hide her grin, though, as she remembers the colors in his eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> Also on [tumblr](http://bxtgrl.tumblr.com/post/161297103822/gabbyliam-i-fell-into-your-lap-on-accident-oh). <3


End file.
